Family, friends hold vigil for slain minister

Dean was a local minister who friends said planned to start his own church. Those who attended the vigil and Ad Hoc Group Against Crime lit candles in his memory.

Police said 37-year-old David Allen shot Dean near 78th Street and Brookside Road. Family members said Dean was trying to defuse an argument between two men.

Dean’s son, Thomas, said his father worked to help children in the churches he served.

“He would run special youth services,” Thomas said. “He would take kids to youth camps. He would give up summer vacations to cook at youth camp, just to make sure kids from the church could go. He’d volunteer his time so they could get their tuition free for camp.”

Family members said it was still unclear why Dean was shot. They said he went to the house to help a person evicted move some furniture. When he arrived, Dean tried to defuse an argument. Witnesses said Allen pulled a gun.